I am pleased to announce that the Village Pops concerts have returned to the Village Green for their 25th year. Each Wednesday night in July and the first two Wednesdays in August (concert dates: 7/8, 7/11, 7/18, 7/25, 8/1 and 8/8) the Gazebo in the Village Green will be the site for the weekly concerts. Village Pops founder Brad DeMilo will once again direct the concerts. The concerts start at 7:30 p.m.. On Sunday, July 8 there will be a special 25th anniversary concert which will start at 4:30 p.m. The Village Pops will play the same musical selections performed in their initial concert in 1983. All you need to do is bring a comfortable lawn chair! I hope you will all come out and experience this wonderful Farmingdale tradition. Just bring your lawn chair and be ready to enjoy a night filled of music. The Village Green renovation is almost complete with more open lawn space to spread out and enjoy the concerts. I encourage all of you to come out not only to listen to the music but to talk and spend time with our neighbors from the community. It really is an opportunity to see what makes our community so special. I encourage you to not only come to the concerts but come into town for dinner before the concerts or grab a snack or ice cream after the concerts. Our village has some of the best restaurants in the county at some of the best values. Whatever your preference, we have it right here in our village. I also hope you make Farmingdale your first choice for your shopping needs. Our local businesses offer you personal service and care that you rarely can get at the shopping malls or big box retailers. Please support our local merchants, many of whom are always there to help support our local charitable and community organizations.

As school ends and we shift gears to the summer, I want to remind everyone when driving to always watch for children playing and pay careful attention to young children around pools, ponds and beaches. Let's make this an enjoyable and safe summer.